


Sunflowers and Bees

by LouPF



Series: Sweet Lullaby [1]
Category: Rick and Morty
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Beth only appears briefly, C-106, Fear of Discovery, Fluff, Gentle Rick Sanchez (Rick and Morty), I Tried, M/M, Non-Sexual, Non-Sexual Age Play, Not Beta Read, Pacifiers, Pre-Relationship, The Author Regrets Nothing, and socks dont forget the socks morty's wearing socks, for now, im like that spongebob meme
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-13
Updated: 2020-06-13
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:48:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,906
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24697063
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LouPF/pseuds/LouPF
Summary: Rick Sanchez is a scientist.He is also a caregiver.His two roles never cross paths- until he finds Morty suckling on a pacifier in his own room.
Relationships: Rick Sanchez & Morty Smith, Rick Sanchez/Morty Smith
Series: Sweet Lullaby [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1785499
Comments: 15
Kudos: 143





	Sunflowers and Bees

Most people tended to be shocked when it became clear that Rick Sanchez of dimension C-106, scientist, was also Rick Sanches of dimension C-106, caregiver. He was so calloused and hard and angry that it seemed weird and out of place - he'd often been accused of being abusive or violent to any littles he might have.

However, _caregiver_ Rick was vastly different from _scientist_ Rick. In that way, they were nearly different people - scientist Rick so centred and collected and drunk, calculated and uncaring with his 'nothing matters' mantra. Caregiver Rick is sober and calm and kind, gentle with the understanding that some things _do_ matter, especially so to others.

He knew he was one of a few - that most Ricks would scoff at his caring, especially if it hadn't been for his hardened side. But there was just something, Rick often told himself - both him and other versions of him - about being someone's light and safety that brought him joy. He'd always been fond of children, of all ages, though he had a general distaste for people. With the then-added bonus of littles having the comprehension of adults and the ability to care for themselves if it was really needed, well... he could very well find himself enjoying it.

He'd had a few little partners in the past, both sexual and otherwise, though not many - he didn't exactly attract littles with his harsh attitude.

There were clubs and gatherings all across the universe where littles and caregivers could meet and be paired up, either for long-term or just a single session or two. Rick couldn't really afford a long-term thing, with his style of life, but it wasn't odd for him to go to such a place once or twice a week to calm down and feel in control of himself.

So Rick knew the general signs of a little. The childish joys. The jawns, the whines, the wish to be in motion and the desperate need for attention.

That, however, wasn't what tipped him off regarding Morty. There were other signs, too. How Morty's gaze was glued to blankets, plushies, pacifiers, bottles. Rick watched him watch them nearly every time they went on an adventure. He liked colouring books and crayons and things he should logically be too old for. But Rick always chalked it up to his oddities - it was just how he was, along with his stutter and anxiety and a weird knack for sucking in information.

At least he did chalk it up to that until he walked in on Morty curled up in bed with two blankets, some plushies, and a pacifier in his mouth.

And then he couldn't exactly pretend anymore.

Morty's eyes flew wide when Rick stepped in, face reddening and pupils contracting. "R - Rick!" he squealed, though it sounded more like a high-pitched 'wick' than anything else. He yanked the pacifier out of his mouth and all but shoved it into his shirt, turning terrified eyes to Rick.

It was like flipping a switch; in only a second, Rick turned from _scientist_ to _caregiver_ , and he softened, gently closing the door behind him. "Aw, M - Morty," he said, making sure to keep his voice even, "you're - I didn't know you were - that you're a little."

Morty squeaked, high-pitched and terrified, his eyes widening even more.

"Oh, no, sweetie, it - it's okay," Rick said, wiping his chin before holding up his empty hands. "You - you're, you're fine."

"You - you - " Morty stuttered, voice soft and meek, sounding more pliable than usual, "you... not mad?"

"No, baby," said Rick, and watched carefully as Morty's skin flushed, not in embarrassment, but in delight. "I, uhh, I'm not mad. Can - can I com - come closer, baby boy?"

Morty flushed again, not looking up to meet his gaze as he nodded - not eagerly, but not hesitantly, either.

Rick crossed the room slowly, crawling into bed and settling down beside him. "Y - you're a shy little bean, huh?" he said, and though he knew those words coming from him usually would sound harsh, he hoped they didn't, now.

Poor Morty was red from head to toe, biting his lips and clutching at his knees. Briefly, Rick wondered if he might have gone too far, but there wasn't any discomfort on Morty's face, just bewilderment and confusion.

Rick wracked his brain for the English little word for pacifier, then said, not unkindly, "y - you can, can put your binky b - b - back in."

With clumsy, trembling hands, Morty pulled his pacifier out of his shirt. It was a pleasant yellow, a cute cartoon bee pictured on the shield. Clearly Earth-bought, and probably cheap, at that.

"It's cute," he offered, to which Morty actually slunk down into the pile of blankets, attempting to hide beneath them.

Yeah, he was a shy bean. Very shy. Possibly non-verbal. Rick had some experience with non-verbal littles from before - it just meant he'd have to engage him in communication otherwise, lest they sat there in awkward silence until either of them left.

He considered leaving, for just one brief second - Morty was his grandson and adventure-partner, and more importantly, Morty was his _Morty._ This wasn't necessarily something Rick wanted to deal with - he could realize and accept it and then move on with his life.

But - and it was a pretty big but, at that - Morty was also a little. And it seemed like he was a newly awakened little, childish in his uncertainty and terrified of discovery as a consequence.

And damn it, but Rick was a caregiver through and through.

"Yo - you, uh, d - doing anything interesting, buddy?" Rick asked, attempting conversation.

Morty blinked before nodding eagerly, shoving the blankets aside to pull a colouring book forth. The open, half-finished page was of a few planets orbiting a sun - not Earth's solar system, though the pages looked Earthly enough.

"Drawing, huh?"

Again Morty nodded, some of his uncertainty bleeding away in the face of Rick's acceptance.

"Which - ughh - system is this?" Rick asked, pointing at the page.

Morty hesitated, uncertain. Then he lit up, flipping through the book - all the motives space-related in one way or another, only about half of them finished - until he found an index.

Rick leaned in and read the numbers Morty was pointing at. "Ohh, r - right. W - we can, uh, visit that, sometime. If you, y'know, if you want."

Morty audibly gasped, turning wide eyes on him. " - 'eally??"

Chuckling, Rick reached out to gently touch his hair. "Yeah. Really." Morty beamed, tilting his head into his hand, and with how his heart soared, Rick knew he was a goner.

Shit, when Morty left littlespace, they had a lot to talk about. That would have to wait, though - the simple fact that Morty still _was_ in littlespace was sign enough of that.

"Hm," said Rick, glancing down at the space-themed colouring book again. "You, uh, you like space, baby?"

Morty blinked, then gave Rick the flattest, driest look he'd ever received in his whole life.

Biting back a snort, Rick said, "Oh, I - I'm being silly, am I?"

Slowly and gravely, Morty nodded.

Rick ruffled his hair. "He - hey, do you have, uh, is this all you have?" He gestured at the blankets, plushies, crayons and colouring book. "'S only, I think that, uh, y'know, a cute kid like you should have more. Deserves more."

Morty's eyes went _wide_. Then he tore his gaze away, looking aside - cheeks flaming red and a smile peeking out around the pacifier. After a few seconds of consideration, he slipped out from the blankets and knelt before the bed.

Rick absently noted he was wearing mismatched socks, one fuzzy and the other not, though they both had cute, cartoonish patterns on them. It was absolutely adorable.

From beneath the bed, Morty pulled a cardboard box. Already Rick could see at least one more plushie peeking out over the edge.

Morty, now suckling a bit on his pacifier, pulled the box into his arms and crawled back into bed, curling up against Rick's side. Shyly, he pushed the box over.

He had three plushies total, all of them the classic teddy bear in various sizes and colours. One of them was old and worn-out, a singed bowtie askew around its neck. Rick reached for it, noting how Morty followed his movements - hungry, like a predator.

"This..." said Rick, turning the bear over in his hands. The faded pink fur was thin and jaded. "This is... Beth's...?" He swallowed thickly, remembering the fuzzy pink teddy he'd tucked into Beth's side when she was but a babe, muttering quietly, " _It'll - it can watch over you when - when I can't_."

Morty nodded against his shoulder.

"Does Beth - urgh - know you have...?" Rick asked, casting an uncertain look at him. Morty nodded fiercely, looking almost offended, and the pieces clicked. Beth must've given it to him when he was young. "Of course," Rick muttered, petting Morty's hair briefly before returning to the bears on the bed. The two others looked all but brand new with bright colours and fluffy fur, beady eyes sparkling. "Do they, uh, ha - have names, Morty?"

"Mhm!" Morty said, reaching for the creamy-coloured bear - the largest of them, though not by much. He spoke around his pacifier, muffled, "'S Marmelade."

"Marmelade?" Rick repeated, just to make sure he got it right. Morty nodded proudly. "They're cu - uh, adorable."

Morty flushed, clearly pleased, before reaching for the next bear. It wasn't entirely right to call this one a bear, though: the ears were rounded more like a mouse's, the muzzle somewhat pointy. "'S Izy."

"Icy?"

"Nu-uh." Morty took out his pacifier, looking at his lap, shy again. "Izy."

"Oh, with a Z, h - huh, baby boy?"

"Mmm!" He squeezed both Izy and Marmelade in his arms, burying his face in their fur.

"Course," Rick said, before reaching back into the box. As he sorted through it, Morty settled in against his side again, pushing at his arm until he lifted it and put it around his shoulders.

He had two other pacifiers, one dark blue with pretty little stars on it and the other a dull yellow plastered with sunflowers. They seemed to be from different producers, and Rick inspected them, noting their poor quality dimly. He'd have to get him some new ones - he knew a planet that had better goods.

Scientist-Rick stirred, and he stopped, looking up with a frown. What was he doing, really? Offering to be his grandson's caregiver? No, it was too early for that, and - well, it would be groundbreaking for their relationship to have such a significant shift in dynamics. Helping out once wasn't the same as being a _caregiver._

But then again. Rick glanced down at Morty, dozing off against his side, arms curled loosely up against his chest and pacifier fitting so snugly against his face.

 _But then again_. Damn, if it wasn't worth it.

Morty had fallen asleep by the time Rick had gotten a thorough look at his gear, and Rick cooed a bit over him before carefully untangling them and tucking Morty in. After only a second's thought, he gently placed Beth's old bear in his arms. "To w - watch over you," he murmured quietly, placing a brief kiss on Morty's forehead before turning off the lights and leaving the room.

He stood outside of the door for a while, caught between several emotions: mainly, gentle warmth at being able to care for someone again and ''Morty's a little, _Morty's a little, **Morty's a little.**_ "

After a quick trip to the bathroom to splash some cold water in his face, Rick meticulously removed himself from a caregiver headspace to his usual, snappy self. Taking a swig of his flask, he went back downstairs to settle on the couch. He'd wait until tomorrow to talk to Morty.

Beth glanced up when he entered the living room. "Well?"

"Well, what?" asked Rick, dropping into the couch beside her.

"Well, has he done his homework?" Beth clarified, raising an eyebrow expectantly.

Oh, right. What he'd initially gone to talk to Morty about. Rick thought back to how earnestly the boy had been colouring; how sleepy he'd gotten the moment he was close to heat; how scared he'd looked when Rick came in. "He's - urgh - asleep," Rick finally settled on.

Beth frowned. "What took you so long?"

"Was pissing," Rick muttered, and emptied his bottle.

*

Rick was early to breakfast the next morning, observing Morty as he tumbled down the stairs. He knew the signs he was looking for: wide eyes, ducked head, rubbing at his eyes, drawn back.

But, no. Morty mumbled, "morning," as he fell into his chair opposite of Rick, blearily scanning the table before reaching for the cereal.

Okay, good. He was big again.

Rick waited for a bit, letting Jerry prattle on about some random shit before he interrupted, saying, "Morty."

Morty glanced up, wary - clearly recalling last night.

"I, ahm, I'm working on, uh, on a Glarb," Rick said, keeping careful eye contact. Morty raised an eyebrow. "You, ugh, you'll help, r - right, Morty?" It took a moment for Morty to catch on, which made sense - Glarbs were a species they'd dealt with as recently as last week. "Oh!" he exclaimed. "Oh, yeah, Rick, for s - sure." Rick nodded and went back to his food, the family blissfully unaware of the conversation they'd really had.

They finished relatively quickly, Rick stumbling into the garage with Morty hot on his heels. "So," Rick said, leaning heavily against a counter and pinning Morty down with his gaze. "Y - y - you're a little."

Morty shuffled his feet. "Aw jeez," he muttered, "I - don't - can't we just f, forget that? I - it's..."

"No," said Rick, and put his flask aside. "N - no, Morty. H - how long have you, uh, known?"

Refusing to meet his eye, Morty sighed and went to sit in Rick's office chair. "Tw - two months."

Rick softened a bit. "How did you realize?"

He shrugged a little. "Y'know, a - a friend told me they were, were little. I - looked into it." He shrugged again. "Kinda just... fit."

"Hm. I s - see."

A moment's silence. Morty looked up, uncertain. "Y - y - you're not... ash - ashamed? Or - or, y'know - uh - disgusted? Or - s... something..."

Rick raised an eyebrow. "Jesus, Morty, you - you really don't have a caregiver, d - do you?"

He blushed prettily and looked away, and yeah, he definitely didn't. "Fuck, Rick, wh - why do you w - want to know?"

And Rick knew this well enough, had done it more times than he could count. He schooled his voice and expression, stern but not cruel, demanding but not controlling. _Caregiver_ , he thought, and said, "tell me."

And Morty fucking _crumbled._ "F - fine! No, I - I don't - haven't - I haven't found any!"

"Clearly," said Rick drily.

"Wh - why?" Morty exclaimed, throwing his hands into the air with an exasperated expression.

"Because y - you can't f - fucking recognize one wh, when he helps you out!" Rick snapped.

Silence.

"You - you're...?"

"Morty," Rick sighed, sitting down on the counter beside him. Morty looked up at him with his wide brown eyes, disbelief dancing in them. "I called your binky cute."

"I," said Morty, and covered his eyes with a hand. A flush bloomed on his cheeks. "I - jeez, I thought you were just - just, y'know, kinda being - nice!"

"Rick Sanchez - ugh - isn't _nice_ ," Rick said drily.

"Except for w - w - when he's a c - caregiver, app - apparently!" Morty cried.

Silence again.

"It's different," Rick muttered softly, looking down at his hands. Those hands that had hurt so many.

Those hands that had cared for so many.

"L - Look, Morty. I - I - I won't treat you any - ugh - differently on adventures," Rick began, shifting uncertainly before looking up at Morty again. He was looking oddly... hopeful. "But - but, uhm, if - if you're a - a dependent, y'know, little - I - I'd like to - shit, Morty, I'd like to - " _Be yours_ , a part of him thought, loud and fierce and wild. _Be yours, be yours, be yours_. "Help out," he finished lamely.

Morty's eyes were wide. Rick's mouth went dry; galaxies swirled in those deep brown wells. "Really? You - you'd do that?" His hands trembled. "For - for me?"

"Jesus," said Rick, looking away and raking a hand through his hair, "yeah, Morty, shit, I would. I - I - " He swallowed, then looked down again, meeting Morty's gaze. "I'd, I want to give you everything, it's - caregiver instincts, y - y'know, you see a little and you, you care for them, and - Morty, damn it, you - you're the cutest little shit I've ever s - urgh - seen, I - I'd shower you in g - gifts and, and care."

"R... really?" Morty repeated, voice high-pitched and strange, and Rick jolted at the realization that merely _talking to him_ like this was enough to push him towards littlespace.

He exhaled. Hard. "Yeah," he muttered, and settled, finally looking properly at him again. His heart ached yearnfully at the awe and trust writ across Morty's face. Slowly, he reached out to cradle his cheek, and Morty leaned into him immediately. "Yeah, baby boy. I mean it."

A pause, and then Morty lurched forward, throwing his arms around his neck and burying his face in his shoulder, clutching tight, tight, tight. "Thank you," he whispered, and Rick didn't answer, only held him close.

 _Anything_ , that hidden part of him whispered, _anything for you_.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm writing this as a little, so I'll be using terms and words I'm familiar with as well as drawing on my own experiences. Do tell me if I'm wrong about something, but do it kindly, dear god. 
> 
> This isn't C-137 simply because I want them to get involved in a later installment >:] Also I named the dimension based on my classroom (room 06 on floor 1, building C) because I'm extra, thanks
> 
> This is a one-shot!! But I'm planning on making this into a series if people like it. So, y'know, if you like it - please comment! I love to hear your thoughts <3


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